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November 9, 2012 · 8:56 am

Day 11 still – Pisa

Pisa Umbrella

Pisa Umbrella

9th June 2012

Seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa wasn’t a factor when deciding which tour to do but it’s included so today I visited another famous place. We had to park outside the city walls again and the bus park was a real shock, it’s the first time we have encountered street vendors in any number. There were a few dozen just in the bus park trying to sell everything from knockoff bags to sunglasses to umbrellas to jewellery, you name it they had it. Mostly they were quite okay if you just said “no” firmly enough but there were a couple more persistent ones who the tour guide ended up speaking to rather sternly. I didn’t ask what nationality they were but heard someone say they would most likely be from Africa. It’s funny the things that make you so aware of being away from home, this was one for me.

First view of Leaning Tower of Pisa

First view of Leaning Tower of Pisa

We caught a little train thing closer to the walls and walked about 50 metres down a little side street following our guide. He stopped,  we all stopped behind him like we do, he then took another couple of steps and turned right – and there was the Leaning Tower of Pisa!! What a wonderful way to see it for the first time, totally unexpected and unannounced, it was terrific. I was pretty awestruck then to actually be there and really did appreciate the theatrical way we were introduced.

Markets in Pisa, Italy

Markets in Pisa, Italy

I must say I didn’t have the patience to wait in line to climb the tower but instead wandered off to have lunch and a look at the town. Had a lovely melon granita and stumbled on some markets where I found a few treasures to top up my luggage (I had just posted 6kg home so what the heck). I bought a couple of old fashion magazines, one from 1958 and the other from 1960 as well as an old map of Rome that I’d love to have displayed on a wall one day. Think I might be a bit “sightseed” out at the moment because people watching and taking street life photos is about all I’ve done today. Then again, it doesn’t matter what I do so long as I am enjoying it I guess.

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November 8, 2012 · 12:18 pm

Day 11 – Lucca

9th June 2012

Church in Lucca Italy

Church in Lucca Italy

I had asked about sending parcels home from Lucca today and yep that was all okay so I bought a couple of bags down thinking I would just pack them at the post office like I would at home. Oops, that’s not how it’s done here. Our tour guide had to get one of the hotel staff to find a carton and tape for me and we packed it there in the foyer. I felt so silly, but the staff were really lovely and the guide said he’d show me where the post office was in Lucca but I just hate putting people out or asking for something out of the ordinary. The post office was a 20 minute walk from the bus and I felt really bad again because he then waited with me and helped with the posting – so, the moral of the story is no more posting parcels home until I’m on my own in Rome .

Daily life, Lucca Italy

Daily life, Lucca Italy

It was actually good in a way to have gone to the post office as I was in areas I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise and I had a map to find my way back to the Piazza San Michele. I had a lovely coffee and cake with Val and we sat and people watched for quite a while. She has been to most of the places on our tour before and I love hearing how things have changed, she remembers really interesting details that bring her stories to life.

It was Jenny and Dorian’s turn to be late this morning. How we all react to being late seems to reflect our personality and I’m enjoying seeing the reactions. They had apparently been walking along the wall around the city and somehow thought they had turned around to come back but were still going in the same direction. It was so funny listening to Jenny tell the story with her arms going everywhere and the dialogue between them as to which direction they should have been going. Good entertainment all round and as long as it’s not me who is late I don’t mind.

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November 3, 2012 · 12:52 pm

Day 7 – Montecatini Terme in Tuscany

Jet trails from Castelbrando, Italy

Jet trails from Castelbrando, Italy

5th June 2012Oh well on the road again today but I explored around the castle on my own this morning and took more pics. I love having people to talk to but really appreciate my alone time, it’s natural I guess but I seem to skim the surface of the places I see when I’m with the group but on my own they really seem to soak in more. It amazed me to see all these jet trails this morning I hadn’t heard one single plane!!

Wonderful food for sale at service stations in Italy

Wonderful food for sale at service stations in Italy

We stopped at one of those amazing servo’s again today where I had my coffee and chocolate brioche – not doing wonders for the waistline, but I console myself that I’m walking lots so that keeps the guilt at bay for now. Took some pics of the meats and cheeses at this one too. The tour guide was really good to listen to today, he sure knows his stuff.  I usually have good intentions of remembering what he tells us but most of the time it doesn’t stick – good thing I take photos I guess! It seemed like a long day travelling today but we were at Montecatini Terme by early afternoon so I can’t have been too bad. We’re staying at Ercolini & Savi Hotel, it’s another lovely place right in the middle of town.

We had dinner at Fattoria il Poggio a little way from Montecatini. It’s an olive growing, wine making farm with restaurant and also I think they host cooking classes as well. We were inside the bigger building on the farm for dinner at big long tables, was great atmosphere, all dark wood and stone with wine barrels and other old bits and pieces all over. The food was delicious, platters of everything brought to the table to be passed around – just fantastic. The wines were of course their own and more than drinkable too. All round it was a great night, a few people had the wobbly boot on by the time we left and the tour guide serenaded us on the drive back to the hotel – I think he fancies himself as a bit of a singer he often bursts into song on the bus, I must admit though he does have a rather nice voice.

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October 29, 2012 · 4:33 pm

Day 4 – Mount Mottarone

Mottarone Cable Car

Mottarone Cable Car

2nd June 2012

We had about 5 minutes after we got back from the islands to drop our gear and meet back in the lobby to head to the cable car station. Only 14 of the 30 in the group came along but I’m so glad I went as it was great fun. The cable car station was about 15 minutes walk from the hotel and it took close to half an hour to reach the top via 2 cable cars and a chair-lift. There was once a tram from Stressa to Mottarone but it last ran in 1963 and all the tracks were demolished not long afterwards

On a clear day you can see 7 lakes from the top of Mount Mottarone but there was a lot of mist and cloud around so we didn’t get to see them all but what we could see was spectacular.

Our tour guide had told us about a toboggan ride we could take while at the top so we all ended up having a go, terrific fun, just like a litter roller coaster ride – without the loops of course. The toboggans were double but I went on my own. You just controlled your speed with the brake/accelerator handles. At the bottom of the ride you were supposed to stay on and it then pulled you back up the hill in two stages. One of the guys had got off his and was standing there looking very lost when I came along so I offered him a lift not thinking what it would look like with him sitting between my legs when we got back to the top. He was really worried that his partner would find out so among the hilarity of it all everyone decided “what happens on the mountain stays on the mountain” –  even though it was totally innocent.

Mottarone chair-lift and toboggan ride

Mottarone chair-lift and toboggan ride

Another of the men had his tripod and I showed him how to set the timer so we took a couple of group photos which turned out really well. It was a great few hours and I think we all loosened up quite a bit with each other after the toboggan ride. There was a little inn where you change from the chairlift to the cable car so we stopped there for a drink. I had a shot that was a bit like Bailey’s Irish Cream except it had an eggnog type taste. It also had peach in it and was served warm – it was called something like “fille de fleur”. I asked the guide about four times and still couldn’t understand what he was saying so thought the best solution would be to just smile and nod! We almost missed the last cable car back down, we only made it by seconds – but then that’s where half the fun lies when you’re travelling isn’t it?

Lake Maggiore islands from cable car

Lake Maggiore islands from cable car

About 20 of the group went to a restaurant for dinner that night that the tour guide organized for us. It was just a normal Italian place where they passed around heaps of different dishes for first course, really rare beef and veges for second course and strudel for third. It was good to have proper Italian food instead of Americanized hotel food. I had my first taste of Italian red wine and loved it, no headache either! Dale’s captain turned up for a drink and a few more compliments, he didn’t get far with her – but he was entertaining. It really was the best day so far from start to finish.

Oh wow, the wonders of the internet! I googled the drink I had that I couldn’t understand the name of earlier and found this site. It’s called Fil da Fer so I wan’t too far wrong I guess – except I don’t know where on earth I got the bit about peach – must have been dreaming again!!

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